Soldering Question???? How?

T

treyrutledge

n00b
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Dec 20, 2003
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I am new to soldering, however, I have been practicing alot lately primarily with solid strand wire and gotten pretty darn good at it. Problem is.....I suck when it comes to using stranded wire! Why is it so much more difficult? Is there a trick for stranded wire? I ask because I am about to try and change my case and hdd leds and I know I will run into stranded wire and don't want to burn up my leds because of the extra time it takes to get the solder to flow with stranded. :confused:
 
The main trouble I imagine you're having is that stranded wire doesn't conduct heat as well. Try this: Tin the tips of each of the wires you're working with before you go to solder it to anything. That way the stranded wire already has a solid solder core that will help heat transfer faster.
 
Thanks, that makes sense. One more question though, when I start the actual soldering, where should I touch the iron to? The tip I just tinned or somewhere else up the wire???
 
I have found that using a rosin flux makes a world of difference when soldering. I am using a semi-liquid type but it looks like Radio Shack only has a paste at the moment which should work just fine. Just put a little of the rosin flux on the parts/contacts/wires you are soldering and go to it.

Non-Spill Rosin Soldering Paste Flux
$5.99 Brand: RadioShack
Catalog #: 64-022
 
I use 66/33 rosin core solder from radio shack. Always be sure to touch the solder to the work, not to the soldering iron itself. If you do, you'll get a 'cold joint' that will fail after a while.
 
second with the rosin core stuff, makes it really easy.

Here is a tip, when you insert your components leave the leads long, and bend them to hold the component in place. Again, place the soldering tip to the board and componet, and apply the solder to the board, once the solder starts flowing, put the tip up from the board along the components lead, this will draw any excess solder up the lead. Then just snip the lead off.
 
see, what a lot of people do is twist 2 wires together then get a huge glob of solder and try to drop it on there..... wrong

take both wires and while they are still seperate put a thin coat of solder on each wire.... this is called tinning. then after both sides are tinned and cooled off put them on eachother, but dont twist them thgether. (hard to do without something else like a clamp holding the wire) then while they are in contact just simply tough the iron to the wiresand they will melt together. this is the cleanest, most professional and effective way i know. have fun and dont brand yourself
 
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